Okay, I'm back in Doha! (Actually, I was back on the 10th but have been swamped with unpacking/work/etc thereafter)
Wow, Bermuda was awesome! It was sunny pretty much the whole time I was there and I was down at the beach 4 times. Got to see Hamilton, St. George's, Tobacco Bay, the Aquarium/Zoo (with its Galapagos tortoises and evil little monkeys), my old house, and meet up with tons of friends that I'd not seen since I left for Qatar. Drank plenty of Black Seal Rum too. In fact the wedding reception I attended really seemed to take off when the Black Seal came out (and incriminating photos show its true. No, not of the bride or groom).
I've traveled a lot around the world but I have yet to find any beaches that can compare to Bermuda's. I guess after living there for five years you just kind of took it for granted so was a real wake-up call to go back and experience it again.
Not everything in Bermuda was laughter and joy. I went back to my barbershop to find out that Harold, an elderly Bermudian gentlemen who had been my barber while I lived in Bermuda, had passed away two years ago. He enjoyed talking about Bermuda and politics, and used to keep a bottle of St. Lucia Rum on the counter for use as a hair tonic -- something Bermudian men used to use in the past to prevent hair loss. I was saddened to hear he was gone.
After that it was three days in not-quite-as-warm London, where I think at one point temperatures dropped to 9°C at midday (in May!). But I got to wander around Kensington, Oxford Street, St. Paul's Cathedral, saw Les Miserables at a theater near Piccadilly Circus, went to a barbecue in Putney, and had a few pints at a couple of pubs to round out the British experience. Managed to pick up the latest book by Richard Dawkins while I was there too.
So, long story short, let's send out some kudos:
Yotel (yotel.com): a capsule hotel that opened up recently at Gatwick airport. I had an eight hour layover after a 7-hour overnight flight and was able to catch five hours sleep in a comfortable bed for the price of about 6 pounds an hour.
Horizons Cottages in Bermuda: a pretty hotel made up of a number of small buildings across a 150-year-old estate. A taste of old Bermuda at its best. Also provided access to the facilities at the nearby Coral Beach Club.
Janel and Enrico, whose wedding I flew to Bermuda for. Congratulations guys! Fantastic wedding, I had a great time.
My friends Knut & Petra, and George & RItu, who each had me over for dinner to catch up on old times.
Shauna, for inviting me over to my old house in Bermuda so that I could see the place once again.
David, for letting me crash in London at his place for a few days and going to the play.
David's friends Damien and (uh-oh, I can't remember her name I keep thinking it's Allison but I know that's not it) for inviting me over to their barbecue. Damien has two airline seats in his living room (tray tables and all), which was really cool to sit in.
and Qatar Airways and British Airways. The flights were smooth, service was fine.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Vacation update
In London right now, saw St Paul's Cathedral and Les Miserables yesterday, going to a BBQ today. Fly back to Qatar tomorrow. I believe some people are trying to reach me today so hopefully they stop by the blog to see that I'm not at home.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Vacation
Sorry, forgot to mention I'm on vacation now -- that's why I haven't been posting. Currently in Bermuda for a wedding, then off to London for a few days.
I know, I know, such a tough life.
I know, I know, such a tough life.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Trip to the Mosque
So as I noted in a previous post I was going to visit a nearby mosque. So this Friday I went to visit English-language services at the Islamic Cultural Centre's mosque. Before I went I spoke to my Muslim colleagues about any type of preparation and dress code:
1) wear pants, do not wear shorts if they go above the knee
2) you don't have to wear anything fancy like a suit and tie, you can wear a T-shirt and jeans if you like
3) do not wear a shirt with pictures on it, especially representations of people (?? Not entirely sure why that is an issue but okay)
That was about it. So I went in a nice golf shirt and slacks. I took an English-language copy of the Qur'an with me to read while I was there and in case they referred to any specific verses. The service wasn't going to start until sometime after 1130 but I've been told to get there at 11 so that I could get a space inside the mosque. Apparently the place fills up and the overflow goes into other rooms where there is video feed of the Imam.
The mosque was a large carpeted room that could seat about 300 to 400 people. There was a small alcove which indicated the direction you had to pray, although it was pretty apparent from the carpet as well since it had rows perpendicular to the alcove for people to line themselves up at. (I believe this is a common feature of all mosques, and is why when you see video of people praying at mosques they all seem to be lined up perfectly with enough space in between the rows to bow). The only furniture consisted of a small platform in front of the alcove from where the Imam gives his sermon, and around three plastic chairs in the back corners, probably for elderly worshipers or people with back problems. Around the walls were numerous small bookshelves with copies of the Qur'an in various languages. Each bookshelf had a small sign indicating the language of the Qur'ans on it and I could see: English, French, Turkish, Somali, Albanian, Philippines, Thai, Hindi, and at least four or five other shelves that were too far away for me to read the sign.
When I got there the room was maybe one third full, men only, most of them either reading from a Qur'an or doing their prayers. I sat up against the back wall so that I could have a bit of back support and be out of the way. I spent the next half hour looking through my Qur'an and watching the men come in. It was a truly diverse crowd. I noticed Malaysians, Filipinos, Chinese, people from Central Asia (possibly Afghani), Nepalese, Pakistanis and other people from South Asia, some Turks, Africans (both West and East Africa), a few Arabs (odd because I would expect them to go to Arabic-language services), and about a half-dozen Caucasians. Sure enough the dress code varied widely, ranging from national dress to jeans and T-shirt. One guy even had a baseball cap on backward. As soon as anyone entered they found a spot and started doing their prayers. By about 11:30 the room was 90% full and there wasn't much space to move around. All the spots against the back wall were now taken and I had what seemed to be a Thai or Malay man to my right and a Nepalese man to my left.
A man approached the microphone and started doing the call to prayer, which reverberated throughout the centre and surrounding area via speakers throughout the building. More people came in and the room was full. Then the Imam took the podium and started his sermon. While giving the sermon many latecomers continued doing their prayers.
The sermon did not refer to any specific passage in the Qur'an, but touched upon the golden age of Islam (around the 10th to 14th centuries) and how the Qur'an encourages people to wonder and think about the world. [I did a blog post probably a year ago discussing the golden age of Islam and what likely lead to its decline]. He also mentioned about how scientific discoveries have reconciled with what is said in the Qur'an -- I later read in the Islam section of the newspaper the same topic so maybe he does the newspaper articles as well. His sermon was done in about 30 minutes, after which he said something in Arabic and everyone turned their palms upward and started reciting something that I didn't understand. Then everyone stood up and I stood up with them, figuring that was it. . .
Then the Imam said something and everyone started bowing - the beginning of a set of standard prayer movements (bow, kneel, press your forehead to the floor etc. ) I was a little unprepared for them to do that and needless to say I was the only one still standing. Looks like I was the only non-Muslim in the room! The guys to the left and right of me clearly noticed I hadn't bowed yet. (I had been found out! Will all the non-Muslims please stand up!) Rather than standing there like an idiot I just imitated what everyone else was doing. After a couple minutes of bowing/kneeling etc. we were done and people started leaving. All in all the whole thing took maybe 50 minutes, shorter than most Christians Sunday services. No hymns or singing, just a short sermon and a couple of prayers.
The Malay guy next to me asked if I was new. I told them I'm not a Muslim but that the Islamic Cultural Centre invited me to attend the services as part of learning about Islam. He seemed kind of happy with that.
Then I left the room with the others, got my shoes, and headed out.
That was an interesting experience, I was kind of surprised that it was shorter than a standard Christian service. I did like the multiculturalism, it really did have people from all over the world and seemed quite inclusive. Thankfully no one seemed to be upset with a non-Muslim being there.
I have a vacation coming up soon, I think after that I will sign up for the Centre's mosque tour.
1) wear pants, do not wear shorts if they go above the knee
2) you don't have to wear anything fancy like a suit and tie, you can wear a T-shirt and jeans if you like
3) do not wear a shirt with pictures on it, especially representations of people (?? Not entirely sure why that is an issue but okay)
That was about it. So I went in a nice golf shirt and slacks. I took an English-language copy of the Qur'an with me to read while I was there and in case they referred to any specific verses. The service wasn't going to start until sometime after 1130 but I've been told to get there at 11 so that I could get a space inside the mosque. Apparently the place fills up and the overflow goes into other rooms where there is video feed of the Imam.
The mosque was a large carpeted room that could seat about 300 to 400 people. There was a small alcove which indicated the direction you had to pray, although it was pretty apparent from the carpet as well since it had rows perpendicular to the alcove for people to line themselves up at. (I believe this is a common feature of all mosques, and is why when you see video of people praying at mosques they all seem to be lined up perfectly with enough space in between the rows to bow). The only furniture consisted of a small platform in front of the alcove from where the Imam gives his sermon, and around three plastic chairs in the back corners, probably for elderly worshipers or people with back problems. Around the walls were numerous small bookshelves with copies of the Qur'an in various languages. Each bookshelf had a small sign indicating the language of the Qur'ans on it and I could see: English, French, Turkish, Somali, Albanian, Philippines, Thai, Hindi, and at least four or five other shelves that were too far away for me to read the sign.
When I got there the room was maybe one third full, men only, most of them either reading from a Qur'an or doing their prayers. I sat up against the back wall so that I could have a bit of back support and be out of the way. I spent the next half hour looking through my Qur'an and watching the men come in. It was a truly diverse crowd. I noticed Malaysians, Filipinos, Chinese, people from Central Asia (possibly Afghani), Nepalese, Pakistanis and other people from South Asia, some Turks, Africans (both West and East Africa), a few Arabs (odd because I would expect them to go to Arabic-language services), and about a half-dozen Caucasians. Sure enough the dress code varied widely, ranging from national dress to jeans and T-shirt. One guy even had a baseball cap on backward. As soon as anyone entered they found a spot and started doing their prayers. By about 11:30 the room was 90% full and there wasn't much space to move around. All the spots against the back wall were now taken and I had what seemed to be a Thai or Malay man to my right and a Nepalese man to my left.
A man approached the microphone and started doing the call to prayer, which reverberated throughout the centre and surrounding area via speakers throughout the building. More people came in and the room was full. Then the Imam took the podium and started his sermon. While giving the sermon many latecomers continued doing their prayers.
The sermon did not refer to any specific passage in the Qur'an, but touched upon the golden age of Islam (around the 10th to 14th centuries) and how the Qur'an encourages people to wonder and think about the world. [I did a blog post probably a year ago discussing the golden age of Islam and what likely lead to its decline]. He also mentioned about how scientific discoveries have reconciled with what is said in the Qur'an -- I later read in the Islam section of the newspaper the same topic so maybe he does the newspaper articles as well. His sermon was done in about 30 minutes, after which he said something in Arabic and everyone turned their palms upward and started reciting something that I didn't understand. Then everyone stood up and I stood up with them, figuring that was it. . .
Then the Imam said something and everyone started bowing - the beginning of a set of standard prayer movements (bow, kneel, press your forehead to the floor etc. ) I was a little unprepared for them to do that and needless to say I was the only one still standing. Looks like I was the only non-Muslim in the room! The guys to the left and right of me clearly noticed I hadn't bowed yet. (I had been found out! Will all the non-Muslims please stand up!) Rather than standing there like an idiot I just imitated what everyone else was doing. After a couple minutes of bowing/kneeling etc. we were done and people started leaving. All in all the whole thing took maybe 50 minutes, shorter than most Christians Sunday services. No hymns or singing, just a short sermon and a couple of prayers.
The Malay guy next to me asked if I was new. I told them I'm not a Muslim but that the Islamic Cultural Centre invited me to attend the services as part of learning about Islam. He seemed kind of happy with that.
Then I left the room with the others, got my shoes, and headed out.
That was an interesting experience, I was kind of surprised that it was shorter than a standard Christian service. I did like the multiculturalism, it really did have people from all over the world and seemed quite inclusive. Thankfully no one seemed to be upset with a non-Muslim being there.
I have a vacation coming up soon, I think after that I will sign up for the Centre's mosque tour.
Friday, April 16, 2010
National Museum of Iraq
This week I attended a talk at the Museum of Islamic Art on the looting of the National Museum of Iraq during the Iraq invasion. Many of you may remember from the early days of the invasion how during the chaos hoards of people were looting the National Museum of its Assyrian and other Mesopotamian treasures (along with all the media outrage about how could this happen, why didn't the coalition think about this and immediately secure the Museum, all those archaeological wonders would be lost etc.). I recall it.
So it was interesting to hear from a scholar who was the Deputy Director General (or some very senior title) of the Museum from 1988 to 1990. He had a fascinating story to tell.
Back in 1990, at the approach of the what we now refer to as the first Gulf War, the Director General for the Museum closed the Museum and secretly gathered a number of employees, instructing them to pack all of the most valuable pieces in the Museum in crates for placement in the vaults of the Central Bank of Iraq. It took them about a week but thousands of the best pieces in the collection were safely transported to the Central Bank for safekeeping.
The vault had two locks, an "A" key and a "B" key, and once locked the keyholders left the city -- one of them went north, the other one south, with instructions to not return unless certain individuals asked them to come back so that the vault could be opened. Everyone else was sworn to secrecy.
After the first Gulf War it was decided to keep the treasures in the vault. The Museum still had tens of thousands of other pieces which they put on display but the most important ones remained safely locked away. The two keyholders had not been instructed to return.
Fast forward to 2003 and the looting of the Museum. While tens of thousands of pieces were looted from the Museum (the scholar estimated about 50,000) no one realized that the best pieces were somewhere else. Everyone just assumed the looters had them (and the looters probably assumed someone else eluded them before they got to them). Even the media didn't know.
Years later the story did come out. Somehow, and it's not entirely sure who the leak was, a reporter found out that the pieces were in the Central Bank vault and mentioned it on a radio show. Shortly thereafter there were attacks on the Central Bank, likely by criminal gangs trying to get the valuables. The boldest attack was four men using RPGs to try to break into the bank. Thankfully something went wrong and they were killed by the explosion.
It was decided that the pieces had to be removed from the bank. The keyholders were instructed to return, the vault was opened, and with the help of the American military the pieces were taken somewhere else for safekeeping.
We were then shown a slideshow of the items being removed from crates in the Central Bank vault. (And when I mean crates I'm talking about those huge 6' x 4' x 3' crates.)
Pretty much every picture showed items of pure gold. Bracelets, necklaces, masks, crowns, all made of gold with precious stones. Some of the pieces weighed more than a kilogram. Okay not everything was gold, there were a few vases and other statuary, but it appeared they were the minority. I couldn't even estimate what the collection was worth.
Over the ensuing years about 15,000 of the 50,000 pieces looted from the Museum have been recovered, and the greatest pieces of Mesopotamian art are still safe. Sadly, no one knows when or if they will ever be on display again.
The scholar knows where the collection is now being kept. Not surprisingly, he refused to tell us.
So it was interesting to hear from a scholar who was the Deputy Director General (or some very senior title) of the Museum from 1988 to 1990. He had a fascinating story to tell.
Back in 1990, at the approach of the what we now refer to as the first Gulf War, the Director General for the Museum closed the Museum and secretly gathered a number of employees, instructing them to pack all of the most valuable pieces in the Museum in crates for placement in the vaults of the Central Bank of Iraq. It took them about a week but thousands of the best pieces in the collection were safely transported to the Central Bank for safekeeping.
The vault had two locks, an "A" key and a "B" key, and once locked the keyholders left the city -- one of them went north, the other one south, with instructions to not return unless certain individuals asked them to come back so that the vault could be opened. Everyone else was sworn to secrecy.
After the first Gulf War it was decided to keep the treasures in the vault. The Museum still had tens of thousands of other pieces which they put on display but the most important ones remained safely locked away. The two keyholders had not been instructed to return.
Fast forward to 2003 and the looting of the Museum. While tens of thousands of pieces were looted from the Museum (the scholar estimated about 50,000) no one realized that the best pieces were somewhere else. Everyone just assumed the looters had them (and the looters probably assumed someone else eluded them before they got to them). Even the media didn't know.
Years later the story did come out. Somehow, and it's not entirely sure who the leak was, a reporter found out that the pieces were in the Central Bank vault and mentioned it on a radio show. Shortly thereafter there were attacks on the Central Bank, likely by criminal gangs trying to get the valuables. The boldest attack was four men using RPGs to try to break into the bank. Thankfully something went wrong and they were killed by the explosion.
It was decided that the pieces had to be removed from the bank. The keyholders were instructed to return, the vault was opened, and with the help of the American military the pieces were taken somewhere else for safekeeping.
We were then shown a slideshow of the items being removed from crates in the Central Bank vault. (And when I mean crates I'm talking about those huge 6' x 4' x 3' crates.)
Pretty much every picture showed items of pure gold. Bracelets, necklaces, masks, crowns, all made of gold with precious stones. Some of the pieces weighed more than a kilogram. Okay not everything was gold, there were a few vases and other statuary, but it appeared they were the minority. I couldn't even estimate what the collection was worth.
Over the ensuing years about 15,000 of the 50,000 pieces looted from the Museum have been recovered, and the greatest pieces of Mesopotamian art are still safe. Sadly, no one knows when or if they will ever be on display again.
The scholar knows where the collection is now being kept. Not surprisingly, he refused to tell us.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Some pearls, a mosque, a souq, and a massage
Saturday turned out to be a varied and interesting day.
First, I decided to go to the Museum of Islamic Art to see their special exhibit on pearls, which is only here until June. Turned out to be more impressive than I thought it would be.
-- The first part of the exhibit focused on the various types and qualities of pearls, usually with examples of the shells the pearls came from.
-- I didn't realize that almost all species of mollusk could produce pearls, just that some rarely do (for example there are fewer than a dozen known pearls from nautilus and conch shells. The museum displayed examples of them).
-- From there it was discussion of the pearl industry throughout history, followed by a large display of Qatar's pearl history, including photos and videos of pearl diving off the coast (the industry largely vanished in Qatar in the 1930s thanks to Mikimoto, and the last divings occurred in the late 70s).
-- An area dedicated to Mikimoto, who developed cultured pearls, allowing for the "farming" of pearls from which most pearls are derived today. There were displays of some of Mikimoto's finest jewelry.
-- Some historical jewelry and other items with pearls, including crowns, robes, necklaces, and a rug commissioned by one of the Indian maharajas which had thousands of pearls in it. The rug was created with the intention of draping it over the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed, though it never made it there.
-- Finally, areas dedicated to modern jewelry incorporating pearls, including one-of-a-kind Cartier and Coco Chanel pieces.
After the Museum I walked about 20 minutes to FANAR (the Qatar Islamic Cultural Center), but they were closed until evening. A lot of places in Qatar still have hours where they are open in the mornings and evenings, closing for the afternoon. The Old Souq has similar hours.
Speaking of which I then walked over to the Old Souq area (Souq Waqif). Most of it was of course closed but I knew that one place would be open, a Chinese massage my friend Fayez and I frequent. Because of all the standing around and walking I did today it seemed like a good time to have a foot massage. My masseur was a Chinese guy and he did a great job. He spoke very little English and I was a bit surprised when I asked him his name and he replied, "Ali". I think he noticed I looked at him a bit quizzically (Ali is not exactly a common Chinese name) because he then said, "Chinese Muslim". Ah, that explains it.
Anyway for those interested an hour-long foot massage is ~$25. Best deal in town. You would pay 5x that at a hotel, maybe more.
So it was back to FANAR now that they would be open. I had realized that in the four years I've been here I've never actually attended Friday prayers at a mosque. I recall that there is an English-language one somewhere so I figured I'd ask FANAR about it and see if it was open to non-Muslims.
I was greeted by a Mr. Umar and we had a long chat about Islam. I think I threw them off a little because he was prepared to discuss basic things about Islam but I was already well-versed enough in the basics through my own studies and discussions with my Muslim friends. Anyway we had a nice chat, I found out that the Centre holds "services" (for lack of a better word) in English every Friday at 11 that is open to non-Muslims. He also told me they organize mosque tours where you can tour various mosques in the city. That's cool, I'll definitely sign up for one of those later, I never know about mosques and whether non-Muslims are allowed to enter them. Some do and some don't but they don't post signs.
I thanked Mr. Umar, he gave me some literature, and my plan for this Friday morning will be to go to the mosque to see what Friday prayer services are all about.
Then it was back to the Souq to relax and have a snack. By the time I got there though I was feeling hot so I stopped at a café and had a juice. It didn't help and I started feeling a little feverish so I went home.
When I got home I was feeling terrible so I immediately grabbed bottled water, medications, and went straight to bed. I was feverish, nauseous, and had very restless sleep. This continued into Sunday morning at which point I started feeling better.
My guess -- heat exhaustion. I've been walking around all afternoon, in the sun, in temperatures around the mid-30s.
You'd think after being here four years I would learn. This is probably the third time this has happened to me. At what point is my brain going to figure out that April does not mean spring-like temperatures.
Just dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
At least I got better and hopefully from now on I won't be so reckless.
First, I decided to go to the Museum of Islamic Art to see their special exhibit on pearls, which is only here until June. Turned out to be more impressive than I thought it would be.
-- The first part of the exhibit focused on the various types and qualities of pearls, usually with examples of the shells the pearls came from.
-- I didn't realize that almost all species of mollusk could produce pearls, just that some rarely do (for example there are fewer than a dozen known pearls from nautilus and conch shells. The museum displayed examples of them).
-- From there it was discussion of the pearl industry throughout history, followed by a large display of Qatar's pearl history, including photos and videos of pearl diving off the coast (the industry largely vanished in Qatar in the 1930s thanks to Mikimoto, and the last divings occurred in the late 70s).
-- An area dedicated to Mikimoto, who developed cultured pearls, allowing for the "farming" of pearls from which most pearls are derived today. There were displays of some of Mikimoto's finest jewelry.
-- Some historical jewelry and other items with pearls, including crowns, robes, necklaces, and a rug commissioned by one of the Indian maharajas which had thousands of pearls in it. The rug was created with the intention of draping it over the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed, though it never made it there.
-- Finally, areas dedicated to modern jewelry incorporating pearls, including one-of-a-kind Cartier and Coco Chanel pieces.
After the Museum I walked about 20 minutes to FANAR (the Qatar Islamic Cultural Center), but they were closed until evening. A lot of places in Qatar still have hours where they are open in the mornings and evenings, closing for the afternoon. The Old Souq has similar hours.
Speaking of which I then walked over to the Old Souq area (Souq Waqif). Most of it was of course closed but I knew that one place would be open, a Chinese massage my friend Fayez and I frequent. Because of all the standing around and walking I did today it seemed like a good time to have a foot massage. My masseur was a Chinese guy and he did a great job. He spoke very little English and I was a bit surprised when I asked him his name and he replied, "Ali". I think he noticed I looked at him a bit quizzically (Ali is not exactly a common Chinese name) because he then said, "Chinese Muslim". Ah, that explains it.
Anyway for those interested an hour-long foot massage is ~$25. Best deal in town. You would pay 5x that at a hotel, maybe more.
So it was back to FANAR now that they would be open. I had realized that in the four years I've been here I've never actually attended Friday prayers at a mosque. I recall that there is an English-language one somewhere so I figured I'd ask FANAR about it and see if it was open to non-Muslims.
I was greeted by a Mr. Umar and we had a long chat about Islam. I think I threw them off a little because he was prepared to discuss basic things about Islam but I was already well-versed enough in the basics through my own studies and discussions with my Muslim friends. Anyway we had a nice chat, I found out that the Centre holds "services" (for lack of a better word) in English every Friday at 11 that is open to non-Muslims. He also told me they organize mosque tours where you can tour various mosques in the city. That's cool, I'll definitely sign up for one of those later, I never know about mosques and whether non-Muslims are allowed to enter them. Some do and some don't but they don't post signs.
I thanked Mr. Umar, he gave me some literature, and my plan for this Friday morning will be to go to the mosque to see what Friday prayer services are all about.
Then it was back to the Souq to relax and have a snack. By the time I got there though I was feeling hot so I stopped at a café and had a juice. It didn't help and I started feeling a little feverish so I went home.
When I got home I was feeling terrible so I immediately grabbed bottled water, medications, and went straight to bed. I was feverish, nauseous, and had very restless sleep. This continued into Sunday morning at which point I started feeling better.
My guess -- heat exhaustion. I've been walking around all afternoon, in the sun, in temperatures around the mid-30s.
You'd think after being here four years I would learn. This is probably the third time this has happened to me. At what point is my brain going to figure out that April does not mean spring-like temperatures.
Just dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
At least I got better and hopefully from now on I won't be so reckless.
Friday, April 09, 2010
More on veils
Man, it's been a crazy week. Anyway . . .
The issue of veils really stirs up a debate in the West. I recall this from one Internet thread discussing it:
"The reality of the veil is cultural apartheid. The reality of the veil is it is a symbol of oppression of women in many cultures."
I do not think it can be viewed solely on those terms, even now. The veil has practical reasons for its use (dust storms come to mind). We in the West may view it as symbolic oppression but it cannot be seen that way in absolute terms as it was also a practical dress code, which was further galvanized under religious ideology.
Note that plenty of Islamic nations are not in deserts, and veils are not commonly used there (now that I think about it there may even be a correlation between how common veils are in a society and how dry & dusty it is, but I digress), yet women in countries without veils still face significant challenges in terms of discrimination and rights.
Rather than us in the West pontificating about what veils do and don't mean let's see what some Arab feminists think. I found one recap of a recent feminist conference [I have paraphrased key points from one speech]
Arab Feminisms: A Critical Perspective | International Conference | October 4 – 7, 2009
Mervat F. Hatem, Ph.D., a Professor of Political Science at Howard University in Washington D.C., chose 3 main points to highlight:
-- There is a critical need to re-evaluate the voices of women in our Arab history, which is entirely biased towards men even when it comes to advances in women’s rights.
-- It is our mission to criticize the views of Arab “modernity” that were born out of colonial histories and to also criticize governmentalities that used motherhood in the service of nation-building, boxing women into that familial role.
-- We must also critically take on the feminist debates and political divisions of secular vs. religious feminists and women, of the middle class in particular.
Women’s rights activists continue to face great oppression in our countries, such as the targeted attacks of women in public demonstrations in Egypt, the tarnishing of reputations of activists in Tunisia, and the direct violence against women during the civil war in Algeria.
The topic of Muslim Feminism is a crucial one for us to address during this conference, Hatem asserted. The dominance of the secularist discourse of Arab feminism has led many to believe that secularism is the only solution to women’s problems. We should challenge such views and allow room for different feminisms, particularly Islamic Feminism, to emerge. Muslim feminists would still be able to deny the projects of Islamic nation-building while, at the same time, promoting Islamic Feminism. It is always dangerous when any feminist discourse claims to be the only correct discourse. Hatem affirmed that she refused discourses around the veil for example, which, in the name of feminism, deny Muslim women the right to their own choices.
It would appear that Prof. Hatem feels there are far bigger issues than wearing veils.
What about in Qatar (again I have paraphrased a recent article, and btw she does not wear a veil):
Secretary general of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs Noor al-Malki talking at the 5th Arab-European dialogue on women’s rights, organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) called yesterday for:
-- (temporaily) enacting a special legislation that regulates the rights of Qatari women married to foreigners and their children, to guarantee those children the same rights to education and health as that of the citizens.
-- quash all articles that discriminate against Qatari woman (married to foreigners) and recognising her children’s rights to automatic citizenship
-- an amendment to some of the articles of the country’s criminal code is needed to secure better protection to the victims of violence in the family.
-- abolishing the ban on appointing women in certain positions, that they were entitled to equal privileges like men.
-- protect housemaids by issuing a special legislation to protect them from all types of violations.
Plenty of big issues that need dealing with, including some that were dealt with in the West up to 100 years ago. Ms al-Malki is clearly outspoken and critical about ertain aspects of how women are treated in Qatar. No mention about veils though. And Qatar is a predominately Wahhabist nation, as is Saudi Arabia.
I am not sure that Arab feminists see the veil in the same way that we do in the West, and thus do not really understand why the West fixates on it. I suspect that most Arab feminists would prefer the West spend its time and resources pressuring Arab governments to address the real problems women face in these countries instead of the debates on whether to ban what the West subjectively interprets as symbols of oppression or lack of freedom.
The issue of veils really stirs up a debate in the West. I recall this from one Internet thread discussing it:
"The reality of the veil is cultural apartheid. The reality of the veil is it is a symbol of oppression of women in many cultures."
I do not think it can be viewed solely on those terms, even now. The veil has practical reasons for its use (dust storms come to mind). We in the West may view it as symbolic oppression but it cannot be seen that way in absolute terms as it was also a practical dress code, which was further galvanized under religious ideology.
Note that plenty of Islamic nations are not in deserts, and veils are not commonly used there (now that I think about it there may even be a correlation between how common veils are in a society and how dry & dusty it is, but I digress), yet women in countries without veils still face significant challenges in terms of discrimination and rights.
Rather than us in the West pontificating about what veils do and don't mean let's see what some Arab feminists think. I found one recap of a recent feminist conference [I have paraphrased key points from one speech]
Arab Feminisms: A Critical Perspective | International Conference | October 4 – 7, 2009
Mervat F. Hatem, Ph.D., a Professor of Political Science at Howard University in Washington D.C., chose 3 main points to highlight:
-- There is a critical need to re-evaluate the voices of women in our Arab history, which is entirely biased towards men even when it comes to advances in women’s rights.
-- It is our mission to criticize the views of Arab “modernity” that were born out of colonial histories and to also criticize governmentalities that used motherhood in the service of nation-building, boxing women into that familial role.
-- We must also critically take on the feminist debates and political divisions of secular vs. religious feminists and women, of the middle class in particular.
Women’s rights activists continue to face great oppression in our countries, such as the targeted attacks of women in public demonstrations in Egypt, the tarnishing of reputations of activists in Tunisia, and the direct violence against women during the civil war in Algeria.
The topic of Muslim Feminism is a crucial one for us to address during this conference, Hatem asserted. The dominance of the secularist discourse of Arab feminism has led many to believe that secularism is the only solution to women’s problems. We should challenge such views and allow room for different feminisms, particularly Islamic Feminism, to emerge. Muslim feminists would still be able to deny the projects of Islamic nation-building while, at the same time, promoting Islamic Feminism. It is always dangerous when any feminist discourse claims to be the only correct discourse. Hatem affirmed that she refused discourses around the veil for example, which, in the name of feminism, deny Muslim women the right to their own choices.
It would appear that Prof. Hatem feels there are far bigger issues than wearing veils.
What about in Qatar (again I have paraphrased a recent article, and btw she does not wear a veil):
Secretary general of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs Noor al-Malki talking at the 5th Arab-European dialogue on women’s rights, organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) called yesterday for:
-- (temporaily) enacting a special legislation that regulates the rights of Qatari women married to foreigners and their children, to guarantee those children the same rights to education and health as that of the citizens.
-- quash all articles that discriminate against Qatari woman (married to foreigners) and recognising her children’s rights to automatic citizenship
-- an amendment to some of the articles of the country’s criminal code is needed to secure better protection to the victims of violence in the family.
-- abolishing the ban on appointing women in certain positions, that they were entitled to equal privileges like men.
-- protect housemaids by issuing a special legislation to protect them from all types of violations.
Plenty of big issues that need dealing with, including some that were dealt with in the West up to 100 years ago. Ms al-Malki is clearly outspoken and critical about ertain aspects of how women are treated in Qatar. No mention about veils though. And Qatar is a predominately Wahhabist nation, as is Saudi Arabia.
I am not sure that Arab feminists see the veil in the same way that we do in the West, and thus do not really understand why the West fixates on it. I suspect that most Arab feminists would prefer the West spend its time and resources pressuring Arab governments to address the real problems women face in these countries instead of the debates on whether to ban what the West subjectively interprets as symbols of oppression or lack of freedom.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A Woman with a Veil, a Man with a Book
During the Swiss minarets controversy I noted that there was no way such a law like that could exist in Canada. I may have spoken too soon.
There was a recent controversy over a woman named Naema Ahmed, who was barred from participating in government classes in Quebec because she wore a niqab (veil) and would not take it off in class. There may have been more to this, some said she was doing other things such as not facing the class when speaking and so on but that's not what's important. What's important is the reaction from the Québec government, a bill to ban women in niqab from receiving public services.
Looking at passing a law!? Uh-oh, that does not sound like a step in the right direction. Perhaps the recent controversy about burqas in France is starting to rub off in Québec. I don't have an issue with requiring the removal of a veil for certain key things (drivers licenses and other picture-based ID, security checks etc.) but to consider passing a law banning veils for reasons like it might muffle their speech in a class (oh no!! The horror!) is utterly ridiculous. Maybe we should consider banning scarves in the winter, after all they might muffle our speech a bit.
This is the part that gets me -- we in the West keep going on about how we embrace freedom and personal liberty and this is what makes us the great societies we are now, and encourage other countries to do the same, yet at the same time contemplate passing laws that are designed to place restrictions on a specific group of people, the same people we keep telling should embrace personal freedom. It's hypocritical. So what if someone wants to wear a veil? We allow people to wear piercings all over their body, have strange haircuts, tattoos, or what have you. As far as I'm concerned if a guy can have a ring through his eyebrow a woman can wear a veil.
We as a Western society need to take the high road and stop preaching freedom on one hand while restricting freedoms on the other. Freedom means that some people will just adopt the style of dress that is different from the norm and that's the price we pay for freedom. So yes that means some women will wear veils in Canada -- who cares, get over it people.
Now Québec is a French society and unlike the rest of Canada I believe the law is based on civil law not British common law. I don't know how well that would interact with the federal system and to what extent a law banning veils could be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. With any luck if the Québec government does try passing a law it gets appealed and quashed.
*************************
The other day I was browsing around a bookstore and when I got to the science section was surprised to see an entire shelf dedicated to a book they just got in. The book was Arabic so I didn't know the title but I definitely recognize the picture on the cover -- Prof. Richard Dawkins. Turns out the book was an Arabic translation of Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think.
My surprise is primarily due to the fact that Prof. Dawkins writes books primarily on two topics: evolutionary biology and atheism. Not surprisingly in the Middle East you can sometimes find his books on the former (the ancestor's tale is one of my favorites) and you will never find any of his books on the latter. He does not mince his words in his treatment of organized religions and one of his recent books, the God Delusion, even stirred up a lot of protest from religious groups in the West. I don't think that book is sold anywhere in the Middle East, I tried to look for it once in Dubai without success and I have never seen it in Qatar. I figure if it's not available in Dubai it's unlikely to be available anywhere. [If anyone reading this knows where it would be available for sale in the Middle East feel free to correct me]
Thankfully whatever misgivings this region has about his (anti)religious books does not extend into his scientific work, which is available in bookstores, but this is the first time I've seen a book about him translated into Arabic.
I wonder if any of his books are available in Arabic?
There was a recent controversy over a woman named Naema Ahmed, who was barred from participating in government classes in Quebec because she wore a niqab (veil) and would not take it off in class. There may have been more to this, some said she was doing other things such as not facing the class when speaking and so on but that's not what's important. What's important is the reaction from the Québec government, a bill to ban women in niqab from receiving public services.
Looking at passing a law!? Uh-oh, that does not sound like a step in the right direction. Perhaps the recent controversy about burqas in France is starting to rub off in Québec. I don't have an issue with requiring the removal of a veil for certain key things (drivers licenses and other picture-based ID, security checks etc.) but to consider passing a law banning veils for reasons like it might muffle their speech in a class (oh no!! The horror!) is utterly ridiculous. Maybe we should consider banning scarves in the winter, after all they might muffle our speech a bit.
This is the part that gets me -- we in the West keep going on about how we embrace freedom and personal liberty and this is what makes us the great societies we are now, and encourage other countries to do the same, yet at the same time contemplate passing laws that are designed to place restrictions on a specific group of people, the same people we keep telling should embrace personal freedom. It's hypocritical. So what if someone wants to wear a veil? We allow people to wear piercings all over their body, have strange haircuts, tattoos, or what have you. As far as I'm concerned if a guy can have a ring through his eyebrow a woman can wear a veil.
We as a Western society need to take the high road and stop preaching freedom on one hand while restricting freedoms on the other. Freedom means that some people will just adopt the style of dress that is different from the norm and that's the price we pay for freedom. So yes that means some women will wear veils in Canada -- who cares, get over it people.
Now Québec is a French society and unlike the rest of Canada I believe the law is based on civil law not British common law. I don't know how well that would interact with the federal system and to what extent a law banning veils could be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. With any luck if the Québec government does try passing a law it gets appealed and quashed.
*************************
The other day I was browsing around a bookstore and when I got to the science section was surprised to see an entire shelf dedicated to a book they just got in. The book was Arabic so I didn't know the title but I definitely recognize the picture on the cover -- Prof. Richard Dawkins. Turns out the book was an Arabic translation of Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think.
My surprise is primarily due to the fact that Prof. Dawkins writes books primarily on two topics: evolutionary biology and atheism. Not surprisingly in the Middle East you can sometimes find his books on the former (the ancestor's tale is one of my favorites) and you will never find any of his books on the latter. He does not mince his words in his treatment of organized religions and one of his recent books, the God Delusion, even stirred up a lot of protest from religious groups in the West. I don't think that book is sold anywhere in the Middle East, I tried to look for it once in Dubai without success and I have never seen it in Qatar. I figure if it's not available in Dubai it's unlikely to be available anywhere. [If anyone reading this knows where it would be available for sale in the Middle East feel free to correct me]
Thankfully whatever misgivings this region has about his (anti)religious books does not extend into his scientific work, which is available in bookstores, but this is the first time I've seen a book about him translated into Arabic.
I wonder if any of his books are available in Arabic?
Friday, March 26, 2010
News
So the other day I was chatting with a Qatari colleague about what he got up to over the weekend and after telling me a few things he nonchalantly added on the end...
... "oh, and I got engaged on Thursday."
Oh, was that all! Just a standard weekend then?! :-)
He just didn't know how to tell me. Apparently in Arabic there is a specific phrase one says to people to announce that you got engaged but it has no equivalent in English so he wasn't sure how exactly to break the news to English-speaking people.
Anyway the proper response is "Mabrruk", the Arabic word for congratulations.
This is also a great opportunity for me (and for those of you out there who read this blog) to get a firsthand account of the Qatari wedding process. My colleague said it was okay as long as I don't use names or give away much in the way of personal details.
Now engagements and weddings are not the same throughout the Islamic world, cultural differences play a large role. Gulf Arabs tend to be very conservative and I'm willing to bet their weddings would be very different from a wedding in Indonesia or Lebanon. That said it is extremely difficult to declare certain things about the process to be purely cultural and other things to be purely Islamic -- this region has been Muslim for 1400 years and Islam underpins so much of daily life that the two are fully intertwined to the point where many cultural activities may have had Islamic roots that people don't even really think about anymore, like in the West why 13 is considered an unlucky number or why we say "bless you"after someone sneezes. The best I can do is that in any blog posts about the engagement and wedding if I can find something in the Qur'an or Hadiths directly related to it I'll let you know, otherwise we will have to go on the assumption that it is more strongly influenced by local culture.
Here's what I learned about the engagement process:
-- his parents and her parents agreed that it might be a suitable match, at which point he went with his parents to her house to meet her and her family
-- after the first meeting apparently my friend and the lady both thought it went well so a second meeting with the families was arranged
-- after the second meeting they agreed to be engaged
I think I previously mentioned in my blog that Qataris have arranged marriages, love marriages are not common (actually I've never heard of one but I'm sure they occur at least occasionally).
Anyway, on to some other details:
-- They are not first cousins. I noted once that it is common for first cousins to marry in many parts of the Islamic world, including Qatar, and while I do know one Qatari who married his first cousin it that is not the case this time. [The Qur'an specifically lists who a person is not allowed to marry, first cousins are okay. This is important since if a woman is going to be escorted by a husband or male relative it can't be someone she is eligible to marry]
-- Once engaged many families will allow the lady to go out on dates with her fiancé, chaperoned by one of her male relatives. Many, not all. In the case of my friend that will not be happening. He is allowed to come over to her family's home for dinner though, and they are allowed to talk to each other on the phone so that they can get to know one another.
Naturally to Westerners this seems a bit extreme but I believe it is to protect the reputation of the lady. An engagement does not always mean the couple will get married, if during the course of their chats they determine that they are really not compatible then the wedding will be called off. The lady can then go find a more suitable fiancé with her reputation intact. Now that I think about it perhaps it was wrong of me to say this seems a bit extreme, it actually seems rather Victorian, like a Jane Austen novel, so it wasn't all that long ago that the British would be doing something similar.
[And yes, she should be able to call it off. The Qur'an states that a woman should not be forced to marry. Sadly that rule does not appear to always be applied consistently throughout the Islamic world]
-- The wedding will likely be this upcoming winter when the weather is cooler, in which case the men's celebration can be held outside. The timing of it is still to be decided and will likely depend more on the availability of halls than anything else.
-- They will not be doing anything to determine "auspicious dates" for the wedding. [The Qur'an notes sorcery and other forms of divination is a sin so few Arabs would use astrology and the like to determine favorable times, nor would they believe that certain days would be more auspicious than others]
-- The groom and his family will be paying for the wedding and related celebrations.
-- And I've already been told I'll be invited!
I'll keep updating as more news comes in over the year. I've decided to create new tag, "Qatari wedding" so that it will be easier for people to find all the posts about local weddings.
... "oh, and I got engaged on Thursday."
Oh, was that all! Just a standard weekend then?! :-)
He just didn't know how to tell me. Apparently in Arabic there is a specific phrase one says to people to announce that you got engaged but it has no equivalent in English so he wasn't sure how exactly to break the news to English-speaking people.
Anyway the proper response is "Mabrruk", the Arabic word for congratulations.
This is also a great opportunity for me (and for those of you out there who read this blog) to get a firsthand account of the Qatari wedding process. My colleague said it was okay as long as I don't use names or give away much in the way of personal details.
Now engagements and weddings are not the same throughout the Islamic world, cultural differences play a large role. Gulf Arabs tend to be very conservative and I'm willing to bet their weddings would be very different from a wedding in Indonesia or Lebanon. That said it is extremely difficult to declare certain things about the process to be purely cultural and other things to be purely Islamic -- this region has been Muslim for 1400 years and Islam underpins so much of daily life that the two are fully intertwined to the point where many cultural activities may have had Islamic roots that people don't even really think about anymore, like in the West why 13 is considered an unlucky number or why we say "bless you"after someone sneezes. The best I can do is that in any blog posts about the engagement and wedding if I can find something in the Qur'an or Hadiths directly related to it I'll let you know, otherwise we will have to go on the assumption that it is more strongly influenced by local culture.
Here's what I learned about the engagement process:
-- his parents and her parents agreed that it might be a suitable match, at which point he went with his parents to her house to meet her and her family
-- after the first meeting apparently my friend and the lady both thought it went well so a second meeting with the families was arranged
-- after the second meeting they agreed to be engaged
I think I previously mentioned in my blog that Qataris have arranged marriages, love marriages are not common (actually I've never heard of one but I'm sure they occur at least occasionally).
Anyway, on to some other details:
-- They are not first cousins. I noted once that it is common for first cousins to marry in many parts of the Islamic world, including Qatar, and while I do know one Qatari who married his first cousin it that is not the case this time. [The Qur'an specifically lists who a person is not allowed to marry, first cousins are okay. This is important since if a woman is going to be escorted by a husband or male relative it can't be someone she is eligible to marry]
-- Once engaged many families will allow the lady to go out on dates with her fiancé, chaperoned by one of her male relatives. Many, not all. In the case of my friend that will not be happening. He is allowed to come over to her family's home for dinner though, and they are allowed to talk to each other on the phone so that they can get to know one another.
Naturally to Westerners this seems a bit extreme but I believe it is to protect the reputation of the lady. An engagement does not always mean the couple will get married, if during the course of their chats they determine that they are really not compatible then the wedding will be called off. The lady can then go find a more suitable fiancé with her reputation intact. Now that I think about it perhaps it was wrong of me to say this seems a bit extreme, it actually seems rather Victorian, like a Jane Austen novel, so it wasn't all that long ago that the British would be doing something similar.
[And yes, she should be able to call it off. The Qur'an states that a woman should not be forced to marry. Sadly that rule does not appear to always be applied consistently throughout the Islamic world]
-- The wedding will likely be this upcoming winter when the weather is cooler, in which case the men's celebration can be held outside. The timing of it is still to be decided and will likely depend more on the availability of halls than anything else.
-- They will not be doing anything to determine "auspicious dates" for the wedding. [The Qur'an notes sorcery and other forms of divination is a sin so few Arabs would use astrology and the like to determine favorable times, nor would they believe that certain days would be more auspicious than others]
-- The groom and his family will be paying for the wedding and related celebrations.
-- And I've already been told I'll be invited!
I'll keep updating as more news comes in over the year. I've decided to create new tag, "Qatari wedding" so that it will be easier for people to find all the posts about local weddings.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Grand Hyatt
A while ago I mentioned that I had taken care of my friend's cats. To thank me for coming to the rescue (they had someone lined up and that person had to cancel -- four hours before my friends were flying out for three weeks vacation) they paid for a night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here in Doha for me. My friends occasionally use the Hyatt as a getaway to relax and unwind and they were staying the weekend there to celebrate their daughter's first birthday so invited me along. This also worked out well for me because at the staff Christmas party I won a raffle for a free massage at the Hyatt's spa that had to be used by the end of March.
Rather than go into a detailed description of everything that happened, which would make this post seem like a paid advertisement for the hotel, I'll just say two things:
1) we had a great time and I had a comfortable night's sleep
2) the staff were really cool about their daughter's birthday. My friends had ordered a cake for the room for that evening but while having lunch at one of the hotel's restaurants they had surprised us with a large cake for her. We thought that must have been the cake my friend's ordered and since the hotel knew where we were eating lunch they sent it there but when we got back to the room another cake was there, plus sparklers for us to use, and they had strewn a dozen balloons on the floor of the room for her (which she really liked, she had great fun sitting amongst the balloons and waving her arms to watch them fly around).
Thanks goes out to my friends, I had a great time.
Rather than go into a detailed description of everything that happened, which would make this post seem like a paid advertisement for the hotel, I'll just say two things:
1) we had a great time and I had a comfortable night's sleep
2) the staff were really cool about their daughter's birthday. My friends had ordered a cake for the room for that evening but while having lunch at one of the hotel's restaurants they had surprised us with a large cake for her. We thought that must have been the cake my friend's ordered and since the hotel knew where we were eating lunch they sent it there but when we got back to the room another cake was there, plus sparklers for us to use, and they had strewn a dozen balloons on the floor of the room for her (which she really liked, she had great fun sitting amongst the balloons and waving her arms to watch them fly around).
Thanks goes out to my friends, I had a great time.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Busy time for Doha
This is a pretty exciting week for Doha, there is a lot going on.
At the Aspire Sports Zone is the World Indoor Track and Field Championships. Many of the world's best track and field athletes are competing.
There is also a convention of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) being held here. In the next week or so we will find out whether the bluefin tuna will be declared a Category I endangered species, my understanding is that this would result in a moratorium on fishing for this species for something like five years. Japan will fight a ban all the way -- it consumes about two thirds of the bluefin tuna caught and it is a lucrative industry (a newspaper article noted that a single large bluefin tuna can fetch over $100,000 in Japanese markets).
Let's see, what else is going on...
The Qatar Natural History Group is off on a field trip to an archaeological dig in the north of the country. If it is the same site that I'm thinking of, it is a village that dates from around the 9th century A.D.
The Museum of Islamic Art normally holds scholarly lectures once a month regarding various items in Islamic Art but this month, thanks to visiting scholars, there are going to be three lectures! I attended the first one last Wednesday on the history of glassmaking in the Islamic World. The other two lectures are on the next two Wednesdays, I'll see if I can get out to them.
And just a bit of news to help counter Western perceptions that women in every Muslim country are somehow locked away in their homes, Qatar's newspapers have reported that the country is likely to have female judges soon. Women appear to be rising rapidly in the legal and judicial ranks in the country. That's good news, I noted a year or so ago in my blog an article from a local Law Society arguing against women becoming judges (the usual nonsense arguments one would find in the West in the early 20th century, they're too emotional . . . blah, blah, blah). Looks like the powers that be in Qatar thankfully did not heed their recommendation.
And hotel bars are starting to clamp down on dress code. Unbeknownst to me (until I tried to get in that is) they will not let men wearing shorts into a bar, long pants only. That my shorts went below the knee did not matter (the Qur'an states that men should at a minimum be covered from the navel to just below the knee), in hindsight I guess it was kind of funny to use a Qur'an passage to argue why I should be let into a bar! I'm not sure when the bars started getting picky about this, I do not go to bars often so for all I know it's been that way for the last year. That's a heads up to all the guys in Doha reading the blog, or planning to visit -- wear pants if you want to go to a bar.
At the Aspire Sports Zone is the World Indoor Track and Field Championships. Many of the world's best track and field athletes are competing.
There is also a convention of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) being held here. In the next week or so we will find out whether the bluefin tuna will be declared a Category I endangered species, my understanding is that this would result in a moratorium on fishing for this species for something like five years. Japan will fight a ban all the way -- it consumes about two thirds of the bluefin tuna caught and it is a lucrative industry (a newspaper article noted that a single large bluefin tuna can fetch over $100,000 in Japanese markets).
Let's see, what else is going on...
The Qatar Natural History Group is off on a field trip to an archaeological dig in the north of the country. If it is the same site that I'm thinking of, it is a village that dates from around the 9th century A.D.
The Museum of Islamic Art normally holds scholarly lectures once a month regarding various items in Islamic Art but this month, thanks to visiting scholars, there are going to be three lectures! I attended the first one last Wednesday on the history of glassmaking in the Islamic World. The other two lectures are on the next two Wednesdays, I'll see if I can get out to them.
And just a bit of news to help counter Western perceptions that women in every Muslim country are somehow locked away in their homes, Qatar's newspapers have reported that the country is likely to have female judges soon. Women appear to be rising rapidly in the legal and judicial ranks in the country. That's good news, I noted a year or so ago in my blog an article from a local Law Society arguing against women becoming judges (the usual nonsense arguments one would find in the West in the early 20th century, they're too emotional . . . blah, blah, blah). Looks like the powers that be in Qatar thankfully did not heed their recommendation.
And hotel bars are starting to clamp down on dress code. Unbeknownst to me (until I tried to get in that is) they will not let men wearing shorts into a bar, long pants only. That my shorts went below the knee did not matter (the Qur'an states that men should at a minimum be covered from the navel to just below the knee), in hindsight I guess it was kind of funny to use a Qur'an passage to argue why I should be let into a bar! I'm not sure when the bars started getting picky about this, I do not go to bars often so for all I know it's been that way for the last year. That's a heads up to all the guys in Doha reading the blog, or planning to visit -- wear pants if you want to go to a bar.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Numerology? Or just because it's cool?
In Qatar and other parts of the GCC there is a secondary market for phone numbers or license plates that have certain number combinations. In Arabic newspapers there are apparently many classified ads for people buying and selling numbers. If you don't believe me Google "phone number auction", some phone numbers can get $100,000 or more. In Qatar getting a price of $5,000 for a desirable number is not unusual.
I'm not sure how one determines the market value of phone numbers and license plates but from my limited understanding what you would like is:
a) numbers with patterns (ex. 5545545 would be worth something)
b) numbers that repeat the same digit (so 5553749 would be worth less than 5553349)
c) numbers that are easy to remember (ex 4001234)
d) or low number license plates can be desirable. Not all license plates have six digits, earlier ones had three, four, or five digits. So license plate number of 1455 would be worth more than 267214.
e) and, if you're lucky, you might have a number that matches someone's license plate. They may call you up and ask if you're willing to sell it. For example a Qatari friend of mine has matching phone number and license plate, so his phone number might be 6472238 and his license plate 472238 [No this is not his real phone number and license plate, just an example, I'm not that crazy that I would give out his phone number on the Internet just to prove a point]
So I was curious about this, did this have something to do with numerology? Were there lucky numbers and unlucky numbers? Did Qataris avoid certain numbers for whatever reason?
Don't think this is a bizarre thing, the Chinese believe 8 is lucky and 4 is unlucky, many in the West believe 13 is an unlucky number, and 7 has always been viewed positively. To this day there are still buildings in the West that do not have a 13th floor. Plenty of cultures around the world have their lucky/unlucky numbers.
I've asked around and so far it does not appear that Qataris have an affinity towards certain numbers or consider others unlucky. While number associations in the West, such as 7 or 13, tend to have some kind of Christian origin (7 Heavens, 13 at the Last Supper [or was it because that's how many witches medieval Christians believed met at Devil-worshipping ceremonies?]) No one mentioned any particular Islamic association with certain numbers, and a quick review of the Bukhari Hadiths did not turn up anything either. I'll ask around a bit more. Until then it looks like there is a vibrant secondary market for phone numbers and license plates because Arabs just find certain combinations of numbers cool to have.
I'm not sure how one determines the market value of phone numbers and license plates but from my limited understanding what you would like is:
a) numbers with patterns (ex. 5545545 would be worth something)
b) numbers that repeat the same digit (so 5553749 would be worth less than 5553349)
c) numbers that are easy to remember (ex 4001234)
d) or low number license plates can be desirable. Not all license plates have six digits, earlier ones had three, four, or five digits. So license plate number of 1455 would be worth more than 267214.
e) and, if you're lucky, you might have a number that matches someone's license plate. They may call you up and ask if you're willing to sell it. For example a Qatari friend of mine has matching phone number and license plate, so his phone number might be 6472238 and his license plate 472238 [No this is not his real phone number and license plate, just an example, I'm not that crazy that I would give out his phone number on the Internet just to prove a point]
So I was curious about this, did this have something to do with numerology? Were there lucky numbers and unlucky numbers? Did Qataris avoid certain numbers for whatever reason?
Don't think this is a bizarre thing, the Chinese believe 8 is lucky and 4 is unlucky, many in the West believe 13 is an unlucky number, and 7 has always been viewed positively. To this day there are still buildings in the West that do not have a 13th floor. Plenty of cultures around the world have their lucky/unlucky numbers.
I've asked around and so far it does not appear that Qataris have an affinity towards certain numbers or consider others unlucky. While number associations in the West, such as 7 or 13, tend to have some kind of Christian origin (7 Heavens, 13 at the Last Supper [or was it because that's how many witches medieval Christians believed met at Devil-worshipping ceremonies?]) No one mentioned any particular Islamic association with certain numbers, and a quick review of the Bukhari Hadiths did not turn up anything either. I'll ask around a bit more. Until then it looks like there is a vibrant secondary market for phone numbers and license plates because Arabs just find certain combinations of numbers cool to have.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Takaful
First, I would just like to say hello to everyone who has found this blog through that article in ABODE magazine. *waves*
Today I was at a roundtable discussion at the MultaQa insurance conference regarding takaful, or what many people might know as Islamic insurance.
Why Islamic insurance? It goes something like this: Islam has prohibitions about gambling, rooted in a concept that Muslims should avoid transactions that are maysir, an Arabic term where the only outcome in a transaction are that one party wins and the other loses -- there is no chance that both could win or both could lose. Gambling is definitely maysir. In fact I have noted before in my blog how raffles here never have a separate entry fee so that they would not be maysir (you didn't pay extra for the ticket so you didn't lose anything if you do not win). Grocery stores typically have promotions where for every 50 riyal worth of groceries you purchase you automatically get raffle ticket. Even if you don't win you still received 50 riyal worth of groceries for your 50 riyal so you haven't really lost, thus not maysir.
So, is conventional insurance maysir? It would be difficult to argue that it is not. When you buy an insurance policy you pay an amount of money to the insurance company for the policy. From this point there are pretty much only two outcomes: if you make a claim on the policy the insurance company has to pay so you "win" and the insurance company loses; if you do not make a claim then the insurance company keeps your money and you do not get anything in return. This creates an issue for devout Muslims who are reluctant to purchase conventional insurance because of its maysir nature.
To get around this prohibition on maysir some entrepreneurial people developed sharia compliant insurance, otherwise known as takaful. In a takaful when you purchase a policy your money is pooled with other policyholders in a policyholder fund. The shareholders of the company charges a policyholder fund a fee in exchange for managing the company. If at the end of the year there is a profit then some of the surplus will be given back to you, either by a direct refund or by a reduction in the amount you have to pay when you renew the policy. This avoids maysir because now it is possible for both the policyholder and the company to "win" by sharing any profits.
There are other requirements to being sharia compliant, the company can't invest in prohibited things like alcohol, investments that bear fixed interest etc. but it would take me forever to go into all the details. Takaful companies usually have a sharia board of Islamic scholars who review any investments and products to ensure that the company is being run according to sharia principles.
The roundtable discussion spent a lot of time on a key issue -- that there is no consistently accepted meaning of takaful across the Islamic world. Due to local beliefs and regulations an insurance company in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Malaysia might all consider themselves takaful but be very different when compared to one another. In Saudi Arabia they are known as "co-operatives", and others might call themselves Islamic companies but others might argue that they are not takaful for whatever reason. A universally accepted definition of takaful apparently does not exist. Some international bodies, such as the IFSB, are trying to standardize definitions, but perhaps it will take time before they are accepted across the entire Islamic world. I'm not sure how successful it will be, imagine in the West trying to get a diverse range of Christian groups, such as Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, evangelical Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mennonites and Mormons, to come to an agreement on anything! I don't think we in the West would even bother trying.
One thing that there was no argument over, takaful insurance is gaining in popularity in the Middle East. Over the last eight years it has outpaced the growth in conventional insurance and some are hopeful that in time it will become larger than conventional insurance in Islamic countries. I think there is still a long way to go, while it is gaining ground in the Middle East in many countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia takaful has a very tiny market presence. I think Malaysia and Sudan have seen the biggest success. Time will tell if takaful becomes bigger than conventional insurance but the major market players are already paying attention. Well known insurance entities such as Chartis (i.e AIG) and Allianz have takaful operations and other conventional insurers in the region have either set up sharia compliant entities or are considering it. I believe there are also takaful companies now in Europe and the United States, drawing on a customer base from Islamic communities in those areas.
For the record, my insurance is still with a conventional insurer. Not because I have an issue with takaful, when I purchased my car it automatically came with one year's insurance from a conventional insurer, and I have simply renewed it with the same company.
Today I was at a roundtable discussion at the MultaQa insurance conference regarding takaful, or what many people might know as Islamic insurance.
Why Islamic insurance? It goes something like this: Islam has prohibitions about gambling, rooted in a concept that Muslims should avoid transactions that are maysir, an Arabic term where the only outcome in a transaction are that one party wins and the other loses -- there is no chance that both could win or both could lose. Gambling is definitely maysir. In fact I have noted before in my blog how raffles here never have a separate entry fee so that they would not be maysir (you didn't pay extra for the ticket so you didn't lose anything if you do not win). Grocery stores typically have promotions where for every 50 riyal worth of groceries you purchase you automatically get raffle ticket. Even if you don't win you still received 50 riyal worth of groceries for your 50 riyal so you haven't really lost, thus not maysir.
So, is conventional insurance maysir? It would be difficult to argue that it is not. When you buy an insurance policy you pay an amount of money to the insurance company for the policy. From this point there are pretty much only two outcomes: if you make a claim on the policy the insurance company has to pay so you "win" and the insurance company loses; if you do not make a claim then the insurance company keeps your money and you do not get anything in return. This creates an issue for devout Muslims who are reluctant to purchase conventional insurance because of its maysir nature.
To get around this prohibition on maysir some entrepreneurial people developed sharia compliant insurance, otherwise known as takaful. In a takaful when you purchase a policy your money is pooled with other policyholders in a policyholder fund. The shareholders of the company charges a policyholder fund a fee in exchange for managing the company. If at the end of the year there is a profit then some of the surplus will be given back to you, either by a direct refund or by a reduction in the amount you have to pay when you renew the policy. This avoids maysir because now it is possible for both the policyholder and the company to "win" by sharing any profits.
There are other requirements to being sharia compliant, the company can't invest in prohibited things like alcohol, investments that bear fixed interest etc. but it would take me forever to go into all the details. Takaful companies usually have a sharia board of Islamic scholars who review any investments and products to ensure that the company is being run according to sharia principles.
The roundtable discussion spent a lot of time on a key issue -- that there is no consistently accepted meaning of takaful across the Islamic world. Due to local beliefs and regulations an insurance company in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Malaysia might all consider themselves takaful but be very different when compared to one another. In Saudi Arabia they are known as "co-operatives", and others might call themselves Islamic companies but others might argue that they are not takaful for whatever reason. A universally accepted definition of takaful apparently does not exist. Some international bodies, such as the IFSB, are trying to standardize definitions, but perhaps it will take time before they are accepted across the entire Islamic world. I'm not sure how successful it will be, imagine in the West trying to get a diverse range of Christian groups, such as Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, evangelical Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mennonites and Mormons, to come to an agreement on anything! I don't think we in the West would even bother trying.
One thing that there was no argument over, takaful insurance is gaining in popularity in the Middle East. Over the last eight years it has outpaced the growth in conventional insurance and some are hopeful that in time it will become larger than conventional insurance in Islamic countries. I think there is still a long way to go, while it is gaining ground in the Middle East in many countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia takaful has a very tiny market presence. I think Malaysia and Sudan have seen the biggest success. Time will tell if takaful becomes bigger than conventional insurance but the major market players are already paying attention. Well known insurance entities such as Chartis (i.e AIG) and Allianz have takaful operations and other conventional insurers in the region have either set up sharia compliant entities or are considering it. I believe there are also takaful companies now in Europe and the United States, drawing on a customer base from Islamic communities in those areas.
For the record, my insurance is still with a conventional insurer. Not because I have an issue with takaful, when I purchased my car it automatically came with one year's insurance from a conventional insurer, and I have simply renewed it with the same company.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
The move
Sorry for not posting but I've been quite busy. Everything is signed, sealed, and delivered. I've moved!
Not out of Qatar, but to another apartment. Something closer to work that makes the commute easier. I should get about an hour of my life back every working day, which will be nice.
Unfortunately rents in the neighborhood were still high and had not been impacted much by a financial crisis or property downturn. I figure if I had waited another two or three months I could've wrangled a better deal but alas I could not wait. So I have myself a one-bedroom apartment for...
... Wait for it...
... Are you sitting down? ...
About $US 3,300 a month, not including utilities. (Hey, I've told you before that rents were unbelievable here.)
Can't be helped I'm afraid, that is just the price you pay for being here. Once I've unpacked and settled I will be able to post more frequently again.
Not out of Qatar, but to another apartment. Something closer to work that makes the commute easier. I should get about an hour of my life back every working day, which will be nice.
Unfortunately rents in the neighborhood were still high and had not been impacted much by a financial crisis or property downturn. I figure if I had waited another two or three months I could've wrangled a better deal but alas I could not wait. So I have myself a one-bedroom apartment for...
... Wait for it...
... Are you sitting down? ...
About $US 3,300 a month, not including utilities. (Hey, I've told you before that rents were unbelievable here.)
Can't be helped I'm afraid, that is just the price you pay for being here. Once I've unpacked and settled I will be able to post more frequently again.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
On Vacation
I was so busy at work I didn't have time to update everyone -- I'm on vacation in Canada now. Left yesterday. I'll be here for 3 weeks but on the 15th I fly to Vancouver for 5 days to see the Winter Olympics. I'm so stoked about that! My sister even scored us some tix for a hockey game (finland vs belarus).
But today I'm off to a Superbowl Party, hosted by friends of my sister-in-law.
I'll try to post updates while I'm here, especially of the Olympics.
But today I'm off to a Superbowl Party, hosted by friends of my sister-in-law.
I'll try to post updates while I'm here, especially of the Olympics.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Cats
Did I mention that I'm doing some cat-sitting for some friends of mine? No, not the white cat who tried to get my soul, different cats.
My friends have three cats, with appropriate names:
Tubbo
Chubbo
Twiggy
Don't ask me how one stayed so thin, maybe the other two eat all the food before the third can get to it. At least these cats don't try to get my soul, they know me well enough by now to know that I don't have one.
But wait, there's another mystery . . .
Locals have for years told tales of an unknown fourth creature in the house, ever elusive, its true identity unknown. This dramatic photograph, taken by an amateur photographer, is purported to be the only evidence on film of this mysterious creature. Many scientists believe it is a case of mistaken identity with Chubbo, or an elaborate hoax, but locals and noted cryptozoologists studying the case refute this, saying that Chubbo is way too fat to move so quickly, and the beast is too small to be someone in a costume. Skeptics remain unconvinced. Nevertheless, the search continues and it is hoped that one day the world will have convincing evidence of the creature locals call "Qatsquatch".
My friends have three cats, with appropriate names:
Tubbo
Chubbo
Twiggy
Don't ask me how one stayed so thin, maybe the other two eat all the food before the third can get to it. At least these cats don't try to get my soul, they know me well enough by now to know that I don't have one.
But wait, there's another mystery . . .
Locals have for years told tales of an unknown fourth creature in the house, ever elusive, its true identity unknown. This dramatic photograph, taken by an amateur photographer, is purported to be the only evidence on film of this mysterious creature. Many scientists believe it is a case of mistaken identity with Chubbo, or an elaborate hoax, but locals and noted cryptozoologists studying the case refute this, saying that Chubbo is way too fat to move so quickly, and the beast is too small to be someone in a costume. Skeptics remain unconvinced. Nevertheless, the search continues and it is hoped that one day the world will have convincing evidence of the creature locals call "Qatsquatch".
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Skeptics in the Pub -- Friday, January 29
So having met another critical thinker in Doha, and he knows some other like-minded people, looks like it's time for...
The first get-together of critical thinkers in Doha!
Friday, January 29
Location: Library Bar, Ramada Hotel
Time: 7-ish
Nothing formal, just critical thinkers chatting over drinks. If anyone is interested feel free to come along!
(And if any Muslims are reading this and are interested in such events let me know, we will see about future ones being "Skeptics in the Cafe" so you can join us.)
I will also post this notice on the JREF forums on the odd chance someone in Doha peruses those boards. Stranger things have happened.
The first get-together of critical thinkers in Doha!
Friday, January 29
Location: Library Bar, Ramada Hotel
Time: 7-ish
Nothing formal, just critical thinkers chatting over drinks. If anyone is interested feel free to come along!
(And if any Muslims are reading this and are interested in such events let me know, we will see about future ones being "Skeptics in the Cafe" so you can join us.)
I will also post this notice on the JREF forums on the odd chance someone in Doha peruses those boards. Stranger things have happened.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Scottish slang
Some friends of mine are on vacation for the next few weeks so I am popping by every day to check up on the house and make sure everything is okay. One of them is Scottish and on the coffee table they have a coasters with various Scottish words and their definitions. Being of British ancestry myself I decided to read through them all to see what ones I knew. Turns out I knew about half. See how you do:
blether
numpty
galoot
besom
steamin'
canny
Careful, you may think you know the definition of some of them but it turns out Scots may have a different meaning of the word, be sure to look them up afterwords.
blether
numpty
galoot
besom
steamin'
canny
Careful, you may think you know the definition of some of them but it turns out Scots may have a different meaning of the word, be sure to look them up afterwords.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tattooing
No, not me. I don't have any tattoos.
Following up on my statements regarding how Muslims do not necessarily follow all aspects of Scripture, nor interpret things exactly the same way, here is an interesting article regarding tattooing in Qatar. Apparently tattooing is banned here as it is haram (prohibited under Islam) but many do it anyway.
I was not sure why tattooing is banned so quick search came up with this.
Tattooing is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but I guess later scholars decided it was not a good thing.
Following up on my statements regarding how Muslims do not necessarily follow all aspects of Scripture, nor interpret things exactly the same way, here is an interesting article regarding tattooing in Qatar. Apparently tattooing is banned here as it is haram (prohibited under Islam) but many do it anyway.
I was not sure why tattooing is banned so quick search came up with this.
Tattooing is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but I guess later scholars decided it was not a good thing.
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